Re: Error Message: "The File Name is Not Valid or Too Long...."

YourWadeness wrote:
This is my issue: I download a file to my desktop from a website.
I, then, proceed to name that file using only valid characters. The
file name is usually only 55 to 60 characters long. But when I try
to move the file into a more convenient location (folder) on my
hard drive, I receive the following error message: "The file name
is not vaild or too long. Specify a different file name." I, then,
have to proceed to shorten the file name to something really
unrecognizable to me, and only then will the file be accepted into
the destination folder.

I never had this problem before. It only started recently (2009).
I've had Windows XP since 2001.

Why is this happening? Can anyone please help me?

*Only* 55-60 characters long? *grin*

Where is the "more convenient location (folder)" you speak of?

Essentially, when you save the file to your desktop, the full patch to that
file is - in a default installation of Windows XP and with the shortest
username I can think would be possible - already 30 characters in - minimum.
That is not counting the drive letter and slashes or the filename itself.
You really want to try and keep full path, including filename, below 255
characters - or there could be unexpected behavior.

Path to your Desktop...
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Desktop

So - for example - you are moving it to your "My Music" folder, perhaps also
under an "Album Name" folder which is under an "Artist Name" folder...

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Music\<Artist
Name>\<Album Name>\filename of your choice.mp3

People seem to really like the fact that they can now name things more than
8 characters with a 3 character file extension. Sure - I understand - it
makes things easier to identify later. However - what many do not take into
account is all the directories paths and such that add to the length of the
filename in order to do anything to that file. So they end up with
ridiculously long paths with ridiculously long filenames - and then they
have trouble using the very files they now know what they are because of the
name being not just recognizable - but exactly what it is.

Some abbreviation is good.

If you want less abbreviation, download and store your long filename files
in a C:\1\ directory... (Or in the root of C or of another drive.)

My suggestion... Keep your filename under 31 characters (not including the
extension/dot, path.)

"a filename under 31 characters.txt"

Keep your paths short as well.

"A filename with sixty characters in it would look like this.txt"
(Again - not counting the extension/dot.)

If you need an entire sentence to remember what is in a file - well - you
need to change where you store things. ;-)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


.

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